Re: playing w/ dj's: a playlist is not a song

["matt davignon" <mattdavignon@hotmail.com>]

I believe that the the act of crossfading/beatmatching dance songs 
together, 
while certainly being something that takes a large amount of practice and 
skill, doesn't make you any more of a musician than the curator of an art 
exhibit is an artist.

However, to say it's not a musical instrument is silly. We all know that's 
up to the National Committee of Musical Instrument Determination (NACMID). 
Last I knew, they were still arguing whether electric guitars were able to 
make anything other than "horrible awful Satan-noise," so it could take a 
while before they get around to answering the question at hand.

>I think the musician/good DJ thing is more that musicians will 
>automatically
>understand what is required. Some(?) DJ's aren't really even aware of 
>scale
>and key to a great extent, and this could be a bit of a problem, yeah?

So are people who create music from finding/making up things that just 
sound 
good together no longer musicians? Are compositions/improvisations that 
work 
outside of centuries-old musical rules simply not music anymore?

Matt


>From: "Gary Waters" <klumzeegary@hotmail.com>
>Reply-To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
>To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
>Subject: Re: playing w/ dj's: a playlist is not a song
>Date: Mon, 21 May 2001 10:26:03 +0800
>
>This is f*#kin strange,
>
>>ah how right you are.  I am in total agreement, however I have to say
>>that DJs that cue up and crossfade someone else's prerecorded music,
>>really don't in my mind belong in the same group as those that really
>>deconstruct and collage music to make it a totally new thing.  I had a
>>chance to hear and talk to DJ Spooky, and he was amazing.  Very smart,
>>and great at his craft.  Now there is a musician.
>>
>>A playlist isn't called a
>>song, because it isn't.
>
>I'm havin this on three different groups ATM!
>
>I came up with this really interesting analogy :
>
>Take Micheal Jordan.
>
>He did things with a basketball that nobody ever did before.
>He was the best player of his generation by miles.
>You could kinda say he raised basketball to an "ARTFORM", right?
>
>Does that make basketball an art? Does that make me an artist because I 
>play
>basketball? I think not!!
>
>Just because DJ Spooky could be described as a "MUSICIAN", it doesn't
>automatically mean that ALL DJ's are MUSICIANS. Not by any logical 
>structure
>I've ever seen!
>
>I'm not passing comment on any individuals here, because I have never 
>heard
>many of you play b4, or checked out your original stuff either.
>I can mix, as well as having started writing my own music, and I don't
>consider myself a MUSICIAN, because I still cant play a MUSICAL 
>INSTRUMENT.
>
>I think the musician/good DJ thing is more that musicians will 
>automatically
>understand what is required. Some(?) DJ's aren't really even aware of 
>scale
>and key to a great extent, and this could be a bit of a problem, yeah?
>
>It's always gonna be hard finding a really, really good DJ because they 
>all
>DJ a lot! Funny that!
>
>I saw this in a magazine and thought it's pretty appropriate :
>
>"Basically what I'm really trying to say here is DJ is basically an
>antiquated throwback name for something that really cant be defined in one
>word. Therefore I put forth three new categories derived from the 
>originally
>covered group :
>
>DJ : Radio DJ, guy and a chick with microphones, radio style presentation
>(Mainstrem commercial radio, in club form the over 30's kinda place with 
>the
>guy on stage with give-aways, and LOTS of re-mixed pop cheese)
>
>CP (Cut and paster) : The guy who mixes at your local house club, the DJ
>mixes smoothly from one song to another all night, but nothing more
>adventurous than that! Might drop the killer tunes, but does so in a very
>predictable and boring way.
>
>DM (disc master, vinyl or CD) : The DJ who takes three copies of the same
>tune and makes something completely different out of it in the mix. The DJ
>who pitches all his records to 135 bpm and sees exactly what key there in
>and catologs them all, so he can actually play in key!"
>
>
>Gaz
>
>P.S. It was a fairly sarcastic article.
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